Manufacture of iron-nickel-cooper alloys.



- ore containing nickel and copper and iron in the form of sulfide, a homogeneous alloy of UNITED srATEs PATENT OFFICE.

BGUILLIVAM 11. crimes, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

No Drawing.

yented certain new and useful Improvements 1n the Manufacture of, lron Nickel-Copper' Alloys, of which the following is a specification. I

The principal object of the present invention isto provide for making, direct from the metals named which is of whitish color, practically non-corroslve, possessed of a low co-efficlent of expansion and of chanical strength, which canbe rolled into sheets, rods and the like, and which canbe comparatively cheaply reduced.

The alloy can be ma e'within the following range of proportions by weight:

Nickel to 50%- Copper .5 to 20% Iron to'70% Theremay be present a small amount of impurities, such as would ordinarily exist in commercial steel, copper and nickel and the presence of carbon in limited proportion does not cause separation. The strength of the alloy dependsupoii the carbon content, so that in eachcase the carbon content is to be determined by providing enough carbon content to insure the required mechanical strength, yet not enou h carbon content to produce hard metal ic nodules. I For the sake of a furtherdes'cription it may be stated'that an alloy containing 65% of iron, 25% nickel and 10%; cop er and of one per cent. of carbon as the following approximate. physical properties:

On a test bar one-half inch in diameter and ticity per square inch in pounds 51,750, elon:

gation per cent. of original length 42%, re-

duction of area per cent. oforiginal section 53.7, but the above is given without intending to limit my atent to such proportions.

- To make the'a 0y directly from ore containing nickel, copper and iron in the form 1 great me- MANUFACTURE OF IBON-NICKEL-GOPPER, ALLOYS.

. Patented Aug. 2, 1910.

of sulfids, theme is first melted with fluxes to form a slag with the gangue and the production at the same time of an iron-coppernickel matte. This matte may be of varying composition and, if the iron in the matte is higher than desirable, the matte can be bessemerized, so that approximately the de-, sired amount of iron is removed by the re-. sulting' oxidation, and the amount of'iron desired for the finished alloy remains. This matte is then calcined to remove sulfur and convert the nickel-copper and iron into oxids. These oxids are reduced with carbon or other suitable reducing agent, whereby there-is produced a homogeneous alloy of the three metals in thesame relative proportions in which they existed in the matte before calcining the carbon should notv be present in amounts sufiicient metallic nodules.

to produce hard The addition of any of the three metals,

copper, nickel oriron may be'made to bring the alloy to the desired proportions which arethose within the limits above given. In

the finished alloy there is present. some or all of the iron which-was present in the ore. The desired method of production is comparatively inexpensive, simple and expediiron-copper-nickel matte froma sulfi ore contammg iron, copper and nickel, bossemerizing the matte to the extent required,

retaining the iron content desired "111 the finished product, calcining the matte to con-. vert the sulfid into oxids, and reducing the oxids thereby making an alloy of copper, nickel and iron, substantially as described.

2. The method of making an iron-nickelcopper alloy which consists in making an' iron-copper-nickel matte from a sulfid ore containlng' iron, copper and nickel, bessemerizing the matte to the extent required,

retaining the iron content desired in the finished product, calcining the matte to convert the sulfid into oxids, reducing the oxids thereby making an alloy of copper, nickel and iron, and adding copper, iron'or nickel as desired, substantially as described.

The method of making an iron-nickelcopper alloy which consists in making an iron-copper-nickel matte from 'sulfid ore the oxids thereby making an alloy of the 10 metals named containing iron of the original ore, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name. i

GU ILLIAM H. GLAMER. \Vitnesses i M. MCGARVEY, J. CECIL BRIGHTHILL. 

